Chapter 93
The sun coming through the door to my balcony woke me up in the morning.
I didn't open my eyes right away because I didn't want to open them and turn my head and realize that Lexi wasn't in my bed, and that last night had all been in my head.
It wouldn't be surprising. I could have totally imagined the whole thing.
But I didn't need to open my eyes.
Because I could hear her soft breathing.
I gathered myself, trying to keep from crying, and finally opened my eyes.
There she was. My Pumpkin. Still all snuggled up in my bed.
I closed my eyes again, smiling like an idiot.
This was completely surreal.
I kinda did a weird happy dance, lying on the couch, making my phone fall on the ground.
Luckily, it didn't wake Lexi up.
But it reminded me I still needed to tell her father that she was fine. I'd told Tyler I would last night, and I should be keeping my word.
So I called the Grayson landline. Lexi's father voice answered after a couple of rings.
"Hello?"
"Hello? Mister Grayson?"
"Yes?"
How were you supposed to tell the father of the girl that you loved that she'd slept over at your place, because she'd gotten drunk, but like nothing had happened?
Because technically, something had kinda happened. She'd told me she loved me. And also, we'd made out. A lot.
Nothing close to making him a grandpa, but still.
I hadn't actually been a perfect gentleman all evening long. And Lexi had definitely tried on more than one occasion to lick my chest.
I guessed I would kind of have to wing it and hope that he wouldn't burry me in an unmarked grave
"It's Blake Eaton. I wanted to apologize for Lexi not coming home last night. She stayed at my place," I said softly, trying not to speak too loudly and wake Lexi up.
But there was also no way I was making that call not in this room. I had to be there when she would wake up. To assess the damages. To make sure last night hadn't been a fluke.
"Oh, yeah. Tyler left a post-it on the fridge. It's fine. We knew where she was," Lexi's father replied.
"Sorry again."
"No need to apologize, bring her home when you can... Oh wait!" he said, and then basically shouted in my ear, "TYLER GRAYSON! YOU RAT! I HAVEN'T LOST THAT BET FINALLY!"
"What?"
"Gotta go, thanks for calling," he just said, and hung up.
I stared at my phone, a little confused.
A bet?
That wasn't the first time I'd heard about a bet in the Grayson household.
I'd have to ask Lexi when she would wake up.
Speaking of her, I laid back down on my couch and turned around, staring back at my Pumpkin still sleeping in my bed.
She was holding on to my pillow like it was the door in the Titanic.
I smiled, trying to keep from laughing.
My whole chest felt warm and light and like everything was okay.
Also, it was the first night in I didn't know how long that I hadn't ran miles before going to sleep, so it felt weird, that my muscles didn't burn.
I just felt... content.
So, I kept staring at Lexi, like the creep that I was.
I hoped she'd forgive me for it.
She'd been smelling my shirts and trying to lick my chest, she'd excuse my staring at her from afar as she slept.
There would definitely be Edward comments about this though.
I knew her.
Finally, Lexi started to move. One of her feet poke out from the blanket, resting on the ground, which I found a little hilarious.
And then in on quick movement, she sat up in my bed, like she'd been jolted awake. "Oh my god!" she said.
Keep it light, make sure she doesn't freak out.
Lexi was a master overthinker, after all.
"Good morning sunshine. And I already told you, you can call me Blake, that whole god thing is so over-rated," I joked, getting up.
She turned, looking at me, her eyes wide, almost in panic.
"Oh god, I'm feeling sick," she said, her voice cracking, hiding her face in her hands.
"Woah Pumpkin," I automatically said, rushing over to her side, sitting on my bed, my hand going to he back, holding her to my side, her head tucked under my chin. "You okay there," I asked her after kissing the top of her head.
I'd done it a little too naturally.
I'd just been so carefree with the holding her and kissing her last night that I was still in full-privilege mode.
"I'm gonna be sick," Lexi just whined, in my arms.
I ran a hand on her back, trying to be comforting. Hopefully she wasn't going to be sick like, right now, on my shirt. "Need a bucket, Pumpkin?" I asked a little too carefreely.
I'd been expecting this after all. I knew with how much she'd drunk alcohol and how little she'd drank water that she was going to have a wicked hangover in the morning.
"This is so not funny Blake," Lexi replied, and I was pretty sure that she hadn't been feeling sick she would have hit me.
"It is, just a little bit," I replied, as Lexi just pressed her face against my chest.
I had a half a second where I thought that maybe she was actually faking feeling sick and she was doing this just so she could feel up my chest.
Just like, half a second.
"Oh, because you think that me blurting out anything while drunk is funny," she mumbled.
Oh. So this was what was bothering her?
Hopefully she had issues with the drunk portion of that statement, and not with what she'd told me last night.
"You're referring to that?"
"I'm referring to a lot of things," she said.
Yeah, there were a lot of things that could have bothered her about last night.
I was ready for all of it though. I wasn't letting the scared deer escape because it had been spooked.
We'd talk things out. Whatever was wrong.
I'd learn from my mistakes.
"Well, I'm not giving you the right to take back your words, just so you know, so there's no need to freak out, really," I told her, still rubbing her back.
She didn't look as pale and like she was just about to puke when I was doing that, so hopefully, it actually helped.
As much as it was a little bit amusing to me that she was hung over right now, I didn't actually want my Pumpkin to be sick.
"If I wasn't on the verge of hurling, I would be so kicking your ass," she replied, her voice weak.
I had assumed as much just a moment ago.
It made me giddy, to know that I knew my Pumpkin well enough to anticipate that.
"So you say," I replied, chuckling, feeling bubbling joy in my chest, and kissed the side of her head, just because I was too full of love and I had to do something about it. "But you love me so you won't," I added.
"Look, I already feel really, really stupid for just blurting it out like that, drunk, so please don't rub it in," Lexi replied softly, her lips brushing against the skin of my neck.
I assumed she hadn't done it on purpose, still the feather light contact sent chills down my spines, as I held her a little tighter in my arms.
"But did you mean it," I asked, my tone as soft as hers.
"It's not the—"
"Just answer the question," I stopped her before she could try to get out of it. I just needed the confirmation. That yesterday it wasn't just the alcohol talking.
She could regret saying she loved me. She could feel like it had been too fast now that no alcohol was involved. She could say she'd been kind of caught up in the moment and she'd said things she hadn't actually completely meant.
And that all would be okay.
If she'd said it once she'd say it again.
All of this worrying was for nothing though, because after letting out a sigh, Lexi said, "yes I did. I do."
I wanted to squeeze her tighter in in my arms, but if I did I would probably smother her.
My whole heart just felt too full and I wasn't exactly sure how to handle it.
Only thing I could do for now was reassure her. "Then, there's no reason to freak. I'm kind of really, really happy right now so I'm not letting you freak out, over think and ruin the happy moment. Plus, it totally kicked the ass of all my other birthday presents. So, stop freaking out, or over thinking... don't think at all actually."
It would be better if we both didn't overthink about silly things.
I understood the fact that Lexi might not exactly enjoy how her love confession had gone down, but she probably didn't understand how much it meant to me.
Without the I love you we'd still be sitting in the cemetery debating the possibility of us getting together.
Her I love you had me undone.
"Someone's bossy," Lexi replied, chuckling but then letting a little pained sound from the back of her throat.
"Shut it," I laughed, keeping her close to me in my arms. "So, still need that bucket?" I asked her.
She could keep up a conversation, so maybe she was feeling a little better.
"I need to diiiiiie."
Or not.
"Not on my watch. Try rehydrating, that's always a good thing," I told her, and reached for the bottle of water I'd gotten for her, knowing something like this was going to happen.
Lexi complied easily, which was nice comparing to how excruciating it had been to convince her to drink water last night.
"Now, come on," I said, once she'd drank her water, getting comfortable on the bed, with her still in my arms.
"What are you doing?" Lexi just asked, not fighting me off.
I settled us under the covers, my arms always around her, keeping her close. "Well now that you're drunk and not trying to take advantage of me, you're going to sleep while I hold you. Will you behave?"
I had wanted to do this last night, just hold her in my arms, the way I had back during the school trip.
I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about that night over and over again. It was my intrusive thought while I'd been trying to get over her.
It wasn't even just because of the morning after. It was that night, having her in my arms, feeling like everything was right when she was in them.
I would have wanted to hold her close last night, but it wouldn't have felt right. Lexi wads drunk so she wouldn't have been actually agreeing to it, and it would have felt wrong.
Also, with the way she was basically attacking me in order to lick my chest, it was for the better that I'd stayed away from her.
But not that she wasn't drunk anymore, I could have what I wanted.
And what I wanted was to sleep with Lexi in my arms again.
If I was being a hundred percent honest, I was still exhausted. I hadn't slept that much last night. We'd gone to bed late.
But now, lying on my back, with Lexi in my arms, her own around me too, her head tucked under my chin, I felt at ease. I felt like I could rest now.
"Bossy," Lexi mumbled sleepily against my skin.
I tried not to laugh out loud, amused by how cute she was. "Indeed. Try not puking on me," I warned, and pressed my cheek on top of her head, before kissing it.
"I'll try to keep that in mind," she whispered and then added, "I need to call my dad."
Glad I'd been one step ahead.
I wouldn't have wanted her to move from my arms now.
"I took care of it. I texted your brother last night and called your dad before you woke up. He said there's no problem. He also yelled that he hadn't lost the bet finally, care to enlighten me?" I asked. Maybe she knew what that was about.
Had they been betting about the out come of tonight? It felt a little far fetched and impossible.
Who would do that?
I meant... the Graysons could do that. I could totally see the Graysons doing that.
Ah man... they were doing that, weren't they?
"Not right now," she answered, her voice sleepy.
I smiled, running my hand through her hair, "Alright, Pumpkin."
We had all the time in the world after all.
This was just our beginning.
I kissed her forehead with that realization, happy that all my privileges were back, and then some, and allowed myself to finally let go, and fall asleep with the girl that I loved in my arms.
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Happy Monday my little Pumpkins! <3
Still enjoying our happy Blake? :D It's actually still strange for me to write happy Blake. If I'm being a hundred percent honest, I think I like writing broken Blake more. Just because I like writing broken characters, not because I specifically enjoy making Blake suffer. Or do I? ;P hehehe.
No, but like honestly, I do enjoy writing broken characters. I like it when there's heartbreak and pain. I don't know, there's just something about writing despair. I definitely have problems. XD But tell me I'm not the only one? Like, when a TV show or a movie or a book is super sad, like heartbreaking sad, there's just something about it. Fun, happy light stories are nice, but god I love having to put down a book because I'm crying too much. Or having to pause a show because I'm crying too much. There's just something about it.
But, really, I can think about specific scenes where it's goddamn sad, and I just love it. I don't really think about moments when it's super happy in a story. But I do when it's sad. I don't know why, I don't know how to explain it, there's just something.
Yeah, I probably have problems. XD
Anyway! I might be doing a livestream soon to talk about stuff. Future plans stuff. Future fun plans stuff. Not depressing stuff, don't worry. XD
Oh also, if you want to have a few chapters in advance you can always subscribe to my Patreon at patreon.com/kariannegiard. I am a little behind. I owe them like 2 chapters. Well, it's really three now cuz I feel bad. So that's like 5 chapters in advance. So yeah, wait for June 1st, cuz that's when the payments are processed if you want to subscribe. XD
Alright. Enough chatting. Back to writing.
BYE! Love you guys! See you all next week! :D